Chuntera Napier, of Acworth, Ga., faces charges of child cruelty and being a party to a crime in connection with her son's tattoo. "I always thought that if a parent gave consent, then it's fine," Napier told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

But when it comes to tattooing children, Georgia's law states otherwise -- and police say Napier probably knew it.

Apparently some clever teens were using the boots to smuggle in prohibited items -- including cell phones. Cell phones are permitted in the school. Except students must turn them off and keep them in their locker between 7:55 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., reports The Mercury.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's tax returns have called attention to capital gains. As you probably now know, capital gains are usually taxed at a lower rate than other types of income -- but they're not just for the super-rich.

Anyone with a capital asset can claim a capital gain when that asset is later sold, according to the Internal Revenue Service. A "capital gain" is how much money you made by selling the asset. (However, if you lost money in the deal, and it's investment property, it's called a "capital loss.")

So what is considered a capital asset? And can you claim the sweet 15% capital-gains tax rate like Mitt Romney does?

"Yes. When I first started and was much younger and could tolerate those things," Sajak said during an ESPN2 talk show on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Pat Sajak and co-host Vanna White routinely tossed back "two or three or six" margaritas between tapings of "Wheel of Fortune" in the early 1980s, Sajak said. (When pressed for the actual number of drinks, Sajak replied, "I think the average number was cuatro.")

Disinheritance. It's a common threat -- sometimes wielded as a joke, and sometimes said in complete seriousness. But what happens when your parents actually carry through? Can you legally be disinherited?

A British woman pondering this question recently wrote to the Daily Mail for advice. Her boyfriend refuses to marry her unless she agrees to have sex with him at least twice a week. It seems he'd like to put the agreement in writing.

She wants to know whether it's a good idea for a prenup to include sex. But what she should be asking is whether a prenup can include sex -- legally?

Popular file-sharing website Megaupload has gone dark, but not in protest of SOPA. Feds shut down Megaupload on Thursday, and accused the site of violating Internet piracy laws in a so-called "Mega conspiracy."

Megaupload's alleged piracy cost copyright holders more than half a billion dollars in revenue, while raking in $175 million in illegal profits, the Justice Department claims in its indictment.

It's such a big deal, some Megaupload executives and the website's founder -- who goes by the name Kim Dotcom -- were arrested in New Zealand at the Justice Department's request, the AP reports.

So what allows the federal government to shut down Megaupload, which is technically based in Hong Kong, and arrest its New Zealand-based executives?

Breastfeeding mothers will unite on August 4, 2012 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Mother of two Rachel Papantonakis is organizing what will either be dubbed "The Great Nurse-in" or "The Million-Boob March." The event will focus on shedding more awareness on public breastfeeding laws.

The IRS started the voluntary program in 2009 and opened it again in 2011. The 2009 program has already collected around $3.4 billion. A total of more than 15,000 taxpayers came forward.

The 2011 program brought in $1 billion. This figure is expected to grow as the IRS processes more cases. And it seems clear that the government believes there are more wealthy Americans hiding their assets overseas.

A Pennsylvania woman considering a sex change operation was wrongfully fired for wearing a fake penis to work, a lawsuit claims.

Pauline Davis, 45, of Clifford, Pa., wants back pay and damages for humiliation and suffering in connection with her alleged wrongful firing, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. She also wants punitive damages.

Davis wore a prosthetic penis while working as a line inspector at a J&J Snack Foods plant in Moosic, Pa., the Daily News reports. No one could tell what Davis was packing in her pants, her lawsuit claims.

You’ve been served with a summons to appear at a child support court hearing. But what happens at a hearing, and what are your rights?

Child support laws differ by state, but here are some general guidelines about what to expect at a hearing.

A child support court hearing can be triggered when one parent requests a child support order, or wants to change an existing order. Even if both parents agree to a change, they must still appear at a court hearing to convince a judge it’s in the best interest of all parties — especially the children.

After the court hearing, Holloway's divorced parents said they expect the prime suspect in Natalee's disappearance, convicted murderer Joran van der Sloot, to be extradited to the United States to face justice in a separate matter, the Associated Press reports.

The legal declaration of Natalee Holloway's death allows Holloway's father to stop paying medical insurance for his missing daughter, and to use $2,000 in Natalee's college fund for her younger brother's education, the AP reports.

How should we punish child sex offenders? Do they deserve to go to prison? Should they be placed on the sex offender registry? Or do their crimes warrant a different, more rehabilitative approach?

Though this is not a pleasant question, the fact is that about one-quarter of all sex offenders are under the age of 18. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but are mostly male and between the ages of 12 and 14.

Oklahoma's anti-Sharia law amendment is not okay, according to a panel of judges on the 10th Circuit.

Attorneys for the state argued the "Save Our State Amendment" only bans judges from applying international law. But the amendment's language singles out Sharia law, specifically banning its judicial application.

One clause even allows state judges to apply "the law of another state of the United States provided the law of the other state does not include Sharia Law"

If you've heard of HIPAA -- the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 -- you probably know that it protects private medical information. But beyond that, most people are understandably clueless.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired millions with his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, hoping that one day people would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

In the nearly five decades since King's "Dream" speech, the U.S. Supreme Court has grappled with the issue of racial discrimination in a series of cases. Here are five important decisions that reflect King's call for change.

Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964)

The Atlanta Motel case challenged the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations. The motel's owner refused to rent rooms to blacks, and claimed Congress exceeded its authority in enacting the Civil Rights Act.

As the age of first child becomes later and later, more couples are turning to invitro fertilization. Others -- including men -- face medical treatment and choose to freeze embryos as a precaution. But as the popularity of the technology grows, so do the associated legal problems.

What happens during a divorce? If the parties can't decide what to do, who will win custody of the embryo?

A child support lawsuit seeks to provide free legal representation for poor parents facing enforcement actions in Georgia. It also seeks to stop Georgia's practice of throwing thousands of deadbeat parents behind bars.

A judge in Atlanta has cleared the way for a class-action child support lawsuit, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Five parents filed the suit after they were thrown in jail for unpaid child support.

Because the parents were in jail, they had no way to pay their child-support debts, the lawsuit asserts. Some lost their jobs, while others were disabled and could not find work, according to the Journal-Constitution.

Along with hours-long lines and historical precedent, the 2008 presidential election brought renewed attention to the availability of early voting. Voters cast early ballots in record numbers that election. And afterwards, policy advocates pushed for its adoption across the country.

Despite the amount of attention given to early voting, many voters are still unaware that it exists. We're here to change that. Early voting, along with the absentee ballot, is perhaps the best option for those who want to exercise their right to vote.

Jakadrien Turner, the Texas teen deported to Colombia, is returning home this weekend after spending months abroad.

The 15-year-old runaway was referred to U.S. immigration officials earlier this year after she gave police a fake name . The name coincidentally was that of an undocumented 20-year-old Colombian woman.

As marriage rates continue to decline in the United States, unmarried couples may be looking to the IRS for an excuse to stay unhitched.

That's because in this day and age, love and marriage also go together with adverse tax consequences, attorney and tax planner Jeff Schnepper writes for MSN Money. Unmarried couples who cohabitate may end up paying less in taxes than married couples, Schnepper suggests.

How does that happen? The answers can be found in five of Schnepper's top tax reasons not to get married.

Voter ID laws have been around for quite a while, but they're back in the news recently thanks to South Carolina. The Justice Department has rejected the state's new voter ID law, which requires government-issued photo identification at the polls.

The legislation is designed to prevent voter fraud, but some say it discriminates against minorities, the poor and the elderly. Even so, about half of all states impose similar requirements. So aren't voter ID laws legal?

Rick Perry's lawsuit against the state of Virginia has grown in recent days, adding Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum as plaintiffs. The group of Republican presidential candidates has been left off the state's primary ballot -- a move they say violates the First Amendment.

Perry filed suit last week, but the judge refused to halt the printing of the ballots. Instead, he scheduled a hearing for January 13 during which he will consider the larger merits of the case.

It's the new year, and new gay-rights laws are now in effect in a handful of states. Here's a summary of the most significant changes.

Civil Unions

Hawaii and Delaware are now the seventh and eighth states to allow same-sex couples to tie the knot.

A new Delaware law allows for same-sex civil unions with the same legal protections and benefits as marriage, USA Today reports. Delaware's governor signed the bill in May, after both houses of the legislature approved the bill by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

A 99-year-old Italian man is filing for divorce from his wife of 77 years. The split started after the husband, Antonio C, discovered a secret cache of letters. His wife, 96-year-old Rosa C, had an affair in the 1940s.

Antonio confronted Rosa about the relationship. She confessed, but was unable to salvage their marriage.

Some might wonder why he'd end the marriage when he's so far into his golden years. Or if the fact that one spouse cheated on the other will impact their divorce.

As it does every year, January 1st marks the changing of the guard. New laws will become effective, and others will phase out. Sometimes you'll notice, and other times you won't. It usually depends on your state.

But January 1, 2012 will bring high-profile changes at both the federal and state levels. Parts of the Affordable Health Care Act will come into force, and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs will cease to exist. Statewide voting restrictions are widespread, and hands-free cell phones are becoming the norm.

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